Forget Medicare, THIS Is The Chart That Shows Why America Is Doomed

If you look at the US fiscal situation, it's easy to see that
Medicare
is a looming black hole ready to swallow the entire economy.
Reforming the entitlement seems necessary to prevent fiscal ruin.

But actually that's too narrow a way of looking at things. After
all, the costs borne by Medicare are no more sustainable if
they're shifted to private individuals. It's just the path is
different.

The REAL problem is how expensive our healthcare system is
compared to its benefits, at least relative to other countries.

This chart is from SocGen's Albert Edwards. As you can see, the
US has the same life-expectancy of Chile at 7 times the cost.

Now, the root causes of this can be debated ad nauseum. We need
to reform what we pay for. We need to lose weight. We need to end
the doctor cartel, on and on you can go. But if you're looking
for a problem THIS is it.